General Motors Co. (NYSE:GM)

The reported values for goodwill and intangible assets demonstrate several notable trends over the five-year period. Overall, a decline in the net carrying amount of both intangible assets and, consequently, goodwill and intangible assets combined is observed. While goodwill remains relatively stable, significant changes are occurring within the composition of intangible assets.

Goodwill

Goodwill remained remarkably consistent throughout the period, fluctuating within a narrow range between US$1,902 million and US$1,921 million. The initial value of US$1,914 million in 2021 decreased slightly to US$1,911 million in 2022, then experienced a modest increase in 2023 before decreasing again in 2024 and stabilizing in 2025. This suggests limited impairment charges or adjustments to goodwill during this timeframe.

Technology and Intellectual Property

A consistent downward trend is evident in the value of technology and intellectual property. Starting at US$764 million in 2021, the value decreased to US$394 million by 2025. This represents a substantial reduction, potentially indicating amortization, disposals, or write-downs of these assets. The rate of decline accelerated in the later years of the period.

Brands

The value assigned to brands has remained relatively stable, with a slight downward drift. Beginning at US$4,296 million in 2021, the value decreased to US$4,289 million in 2025. These changes are minimal and do not suggest significant brand impairment or revaluation.

Dealer Network, Customer Relationships, and Other

This category also exhibits a gradual decline, though less pronounced than that of technology and intellectual property. The value decreased from US$966 million in 2021 to US$950 million in 2025. This suggests a slow erosion of value within these assets, potentially due to competitive pressures or changes in customer behavior.

Intangible Assets – Gross and Net

The gross carrying amount of intangible assets decreased from US$6,026 million in 2021 to US$5,633 million in 2025, reflecting the combined effect of declines in the individual intangible asset categories. Simultaneously, accumulated amortization increased consistently from US$2,853 million to US$3,179 million. Consequently, the net carrying amount of intangible assets experienced a significant reduction, falling from US$3,173 million in 2021 to US$2,454 million in 2025. This indicates that amortization expense is a significant factor impacting the reported value of intangible assets.

Goodwill and Intangible Assets, Net

The combined net carrying amount of goodwill and intangible assets decreased steadily from US$5,087 million in 2021 to US$4,366 million in 2025. This overall decline is primarily driven by the reduction in the net carrying amount of intangible assets, as goodwill remained relatively stable. The consistent decrease suggests a potential erosion of overall intangible value within the organization.

In summary, the analysis reveals a stable goodwill position coupled with a notable decline in the value of intangible assets, particularly technology and intellectual property. The increasing accumulated amortization expense contributes significantly to the reduction in net intangible asset value, ultimately impacting the overall net carrying amount of goodwill and intangible assets.

The information presents a five-year trend of reported and adjusted total assets and stockholders’ equity. The adjustments appear to relate to the removal of goodwill and associated impacts. A consistent difference exists between the reported and adjusted figures for both total assets and stockholders’ equity throughout the period, indicating a systematic reduction achieved through the adjustments.

Total Assets

Reported total assets demonstrate an overall increasing trend from US$244,718 million in 2021 to US$281,284 million in 2025. However, the rate of increase decelerates over time. The adjusted total assets, consistently lower than the reported figures, also exhibit an increasing trend, moving from US$242,804 million in 2021 to US$279,372 million in 2025. The difference between reported and adjusted total assets remains relatively stable, approximately US$1,914 million to US$1,912 million, suggesting a consistent level of goodwill or intangible asset removal.

Stockholders’ Equity

Reported stockholders’ equity increased from US$59,744 million in 2021 to US$67,792 million in 2022, then declined to US$61,119 million in 2025. Adjusted stockholders’ equity follows a similar pattern, starting at US$57,830 million in 2021, peaking at US$65,881 million in 2022, and decreasing to US$59,207 million in 2025. The gap between reported and adjusted stockholders’ equity is also consistent, ranging from approximately US$1,914 million to US$1,905 million, mirroring the pattern observed in total assets. This suggests the adjustments directly impact the equity section of the balance sheet, likely through the reduction of intangible assets with accumulated amortization or impairment.

The consistent difference between reported and adjusted values across both total assets and stockholders’ equity indicates a deliberate and ongoing process of removing goodwill or intangible assets from the balance sheet. While both reported figures generally increase over the period, the adjustments reveal a more moderate growth trajectory when considering the impact of these removals. The decline in both reported and adjusted stockholders’ equity from 2022 to 2025 warrants further investigation to understand the underlying drivers beyond the goodwill adjustments.

The financial metrics demonstrate a generally stable performance across the observed period, with slight adjustments noted when goodwill is excluded from the calculations. The impact of removing goodwill appears to be consistently incremental, suggesting its presence does not fundamentally alter the overall financial picture but does influence specific ratios.

Total Asset Turnover

Reported total asset turnover exhibits an increasing trend from 0.46 in 2021 to 0.61 in 2024, followed by a slight decrease to 0.60 in 2025. The adjusted total asset turnover mirrors this pattern, showing a similar increase and subsequent leveling off, with values slightly higher than the reported figures throughout the period. The difference between reported and adjusted values remains relatively consistent, indicating a stable proportion of assets represented by goodwill.

Financial Leverage

Reported financial leverage fluctuates between 3.89 and 4.60 over the five-year period. The adjusted financial leverage consistently exceeds the reported leverage, increasing from 4.20 in 2021 to 4.72 in 2025. This suggests that the inclusion of goodwill in the asset base reduces the calculated leverage ratio. The incremental increase in adjusted leverage parallels the trend in reported leverage.

Return on Equity (ROE)

Reported ROE declines significantly from 16.77% in 2021 to 4.41% in 2025. The adjusted ROE follows a similar downward trajectory, though consistently reporting slightly higher values than the reported ROE. The difference between the two metrics remains relatively small, indicating that goodwill does not substantially impact the overall return to equity. The most significant decline in both reported and adjusted ROE occurs between 2023 and 2024.

Return on Assets (ROA)

Reported ROA also demonstrates a decreasing trend, falling from 4.09% in 2021 to 0.96% in 2025. The adjusted ROA mirrors this decline, remaining consistently slightly above the reported ROA. Similar to ROE, the difference between the reported and adjusted ROA is minimal, suggesting that goodwill has a limited effect on the return generated from assets. The largest decrease in both reported and adjusted ROA is observed between 2023 and 2024.

In summary, the adjustments made by removing goodwill result in marginally higher values for asset turnover, financial leverage, ROE, and ROA. The trends observed in both the reported and adjusted ratios are largely consistent, indicating that goodwill, while influencing the magnitude of these ratios, does not fundamentally alter the underlying performance trends.

The period under review demonstrates a generally positive trend in asset turnover ratios, with a slight moderation in the most recent year. Both reported and adjusted total asset turnover exhibit similar patterns, suggesting that the adjustments to total assets do not significantly alter the overall interpretation. Total assets, both reported and adjusted, show a consistent increase throughout the period.

Adjusted Total Asset Turnover

The adjusted total asset turnover ratio increased from 0.47 in 2021 to 0.62 in 2024, representing a substantial improvement in the efficiency with which assets are used to generate revenue. This indicates that, for each dollar of adjusted assets, the company generated approximately 62 cents in revenue in 2024. However, the ratio experienced a slight decrease to 0.60 in 2025, potentially signaling a stabilization or minor reduction in asset utilization efficiency.

Total Asset Trends

Adjusted total assets increased steadily from US$242,804 million in 2021 to US$279,372 million in 2025. This growth in the asset base occurred concurrently with the improvement in asset turnover, suggesting that the company effectively deployed these additional assets to drive revenue growth. The increase in reported total assets mirrors this trend, moving from US$244,718 million to US$281,284 million over the same period.

Reported vs. Adjusted Turnover

The difference between the reported and adjusted total asset turnover ratios remains relatively small throughout the period, fluctuating between 0.01 and 0.02. This consistency suggests that the adjustments made to total assets, presumably related to goodwill or intangible assets, have a limited impact on the overall assessment of asset utilization. The close alignment of the two ratios reinforces the reliability of the turnover trend observed.

In summary, the company demonstrated improving efficiency in asset utilization from 2021 to 2024, as evidenced by the rising adjusted total asset turnover ratio. While a slight decrease was observed in 2025, the overall trend remains positive, and the growth in total assets appears to be aligned with revenue generation.

An examination of the financial information reveals trends in both reported and adjusted asset and equity figures, impacting calculated financial leverage ratios over the five-year period. Total assets, both reported and adjusted, demonstrate a general upward trajectory. However, the rate of increase appears to moderate in later years.

Asset Trends

Reported total assets increased from US$244,718 million in 2021 to US$281,284 million in 2025, representing a cumulative growth of approximately 14.9%. Adjusted total assets followed a similar pattern, rising from US$242,804 million to US$279,372 million, a cumulative increase of roughly 14.6%. The difference between reported and adjusted total assets remains relatively consistent throughout the period, suggesting a systematic adjustment is being applied.

Equity Trends

Reported stockholders’ equity experienced an initial increase from US$59,744 million in 2021 to US$67,792 million in 2022, before declining to US$61,119 million by 2025. Adjusted stockholders’ equity mirrored this trend, moving from US$57,830 million to US$65,881 million in 2022 and then decreasing to US$59,207 million in 2025. The consistent difference between reported and adjusted equity suggests a similar systematic adjustment as observed with total assets.

Financial Leverage

Reported financial leverage fluctuated between 4.10 and 4.60 over the period. It initially decreased from 4.10 in 2021 to 3.89 in 2022, then increased steadily to 4.60 in 2025. Adjusted financial leverage exhibited a similar pattern, ranging from 4.20 to 4.72. The adjusted leverage ratio consistently exceeds the reported leverage ratio throughout the period, indicating that the adjustments to assets and equity result in a higher calculated leverage. The trend in adjusted financial leverage shows a consistent increase from 4.20 in 2021 to 4.72 in 2025, representing a cumulative increase of approximately 12.4%.

The observed trends suggest a growing asset base coupled with fluctuating equity levels, leading to a gradual increase in adjusted financial leverage. The consistent difference between reported and adjusted figures indicates the presence of specific adjustments impacting both asset and equity valuations. Further investigation into the nature of these adjustments would be necessary to fully understand their implications.

Analysis of the presented financial information reveals trends in stockholders’ equity and associated returns on equity over a five-year period. Stockholders’ equity, both reported and adjusted, generally increased from 2021 to 2022 before experiencing declines in subsequent years. Return on equity metrics followed a similar pattern, peaking in 2021 and 2022 before decreasing through 2025.

Stockholders’ Equity

Reported stockholders’ equity increased from US$59,744 million in 2021 to US$67,792 million in 2022, representing a substantial gain. However, it then decreased consecutively to US$61,119 million by 2025. Adjusted stockholders’ equity mirrored this trend, rising from US$57,830 million in 2021 to US$65,881 million in 2022, and subsequently declining to US$59,207 million in 2025. The consistent decrease from 2022 to 2025 suggests potential factors impacting equity, such as share repurchases, dividend payouts, or negative comprehensive income.

Reported Return on Equity (ROE)

Reported ROE exhibited a peak of 16.77% in 2021, followed by a decrease to 14.65% in 2022. A subsequent increase to 15.75% in 2023 was followed by a significant decline to 9.53% in 2024 and further to 4.41% in 2025. This downward trend indicates diminishing profitability relative to stockholders’ equity.

Adjusted Return on Equity (ROE)

Adjusted ROE followed a similar trajectory to reported ROE, beginning at 17.32% in 2021, decreasing to 15.08% in 2022, increasing to 16.24% in 2023, and then declining sharply to 9.82% in 2024 and 4.56% in 2025. The adjusted ROE consistently remained slightly higher than the reported ROE across all periods, suggesting that adjustments to stockholders’ equity positively influence the return calculation. The substantial decline in both reported and adjusted ROE from 2023 to 2025 warrants further investigation into the underlying causes of reduced profitability.

The convergence of declining equity and returns suggests a potential weakening in financial performance during the latter part of the analyzed period. The consistency of the trends across both reported and adjusted figures reinforces the significance of these observations.

The reported and adjusted total assets exhibited a generally increasing trend from 2021 through 2025. However, the rate of increase decelerated over the period. Simultaneously, both reported and adjusted return on assets (ROA) demonstrated a declining trend during the same timeframe.

Total Assets

Reported total assets increased from US$244,718 million in 2021 to US$281,284 million in 2025, representing a cumulative growth of approximately 14.9%. Adjusted total assets followed a similar pattern, rising from US$242,804 million to US$279,372 million, a cumulative increase of roughly 14.6%. The largest year-over-year increase in both reported and adjusted assets occurred between 2021 and 2022.

Return on Assets (ROA)

Reported ROA decreased from 4.09% in 2021 to 0.96% in 2025. This represents a substantial decline in profitability relative to the asset base. Adjusted ROA mirrored this trend, decreasing from 4.13% to 0.97% over the same period. The most significant decrease in both reported and adjusted ROA occurred between 2023 and 2024.

Relationship between Total Assets and ROA

Despite the consistent growth in total assets, the corresponding decline in ROA suggests diminishing returns on those assets. The company is deploying more capital but generating proportionally less profit. The difference between reported and adjusted ROA remained minimal throughout the period, consistently within a range of approximately 0.01% to 0.03%, indicating that adjustments to total assets had a limited impact on the overall ROA figure.

The observed trends suggest a potential weakening in the efficiency with which assets are being utilized to generate profits. Further investigation into the drivers of asset growth and profitability decline would be warranted.